Resembling a pork knuckle,
Braised Sailfish Tail (NT$450/
4-5 people; call in advance to
order) is rich in collagen, and
its combination of soy sauce,
sugar and Japanese sweet
soy sauce makes the tender
fish taste even more delicious.

Kuronosio does seafood the right way

As a native of the east-coast seaside city of Taitung, Kuronosio restaurant owner Chen Tai-long knows everything there is about seafood. Although he never received any formal culinary training, Chen learned all of his skills from his mother and notes, "The food can never be bad as long as the ingredients are fresh and top-quality.”

His theory is well-proven here, especially when applied to seafood. The restaurant offers some exquisite sashimi, tuna and sailfish entrees and all of these fish can be prepared in many ways. For example, the owner has developed various sailfish dishes that include Fried Egg with Sailfish, Sailfish Belly, and Braised Sailfish Tail.

If you want a heathy seafood feast, you can ask Chen to design a table set meal (NT$1,000-1,200 per person) for you. As you enjoy your meal, you can also chat with the owner, who is happy to share his fish-related knowledge and stories, including differences between the textures of almost every kind of fish meat.

The delicious, nutritious Sunfish Soup (NT$450) is made with chicken, ham and pork. After 15 hours of cooking, sunfish skin, full of collagen, is added to the stock, which is cooked further until it's thicker.

The fat in the Braised Sailfish Belly(NT$480, price varies) is evenly spread, giving it a soft, rich flavor. This item is best when grilled or pan-fried.

To create the Black Pepper Sailfish (NT$280), the fish is first pan-fried until it's medium well-done before being drizzled with some specially-made black pepper sauce. The result is so tender and savory that it's almost like eating a steak.

Sailfish Sashimi (NT$80/slice) is very thick and has tender texture that goes best with freshly-ground wasabi.